Brett Favre To the Vikings: A Good PR Move and That's It

(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

Well the day finally arrived, folks.  I never once mentioned Brett Favre to the Vikings in any of my articles and never took a stance on the issue because, to be honest, I never wanted to imagine that it might come true.

Another article will come later that breaks down my personal feelings on Favre wearing purple, but for now, we’ve got a free agent signing to break down.

Today it was announced that, pending a physical, Favre will join the Minnesota Vikings and presumably take over the starting quarterback responsibilities.  With Tavaris Jackson still fighting the injury bug and Sage Rosenfels being, well, Sage Rosenfels, it’s easy to believe that Favre will be an improvement over the two.

Favre will turn 40 right before the start of Week Five and will be entering his 19th year in the National Football League.  It has been a storied career for Favre, who has won three MVPs, a Super Bowl, and holds all major passing records including completions, passing yards, and touchdowns.

As good as his career has been, he has made just about as many headlines in the last two offseasons than he did the last 16 combined.  Coming in and out of retirement became almost a game for people, and no one knew what to believe.

He played with people’s emotions, couldn’t decide what to do, retired, un-retired, retired again, “got the itch” again, said no, and is now on a plane to Minnesota.

For the Vikings, the addition of Favre is one of the biggest PR moves in football history. The move is literally the equivalent of Derek Jeter to the Red Sox or Coach K taking a job with the Tar Heels.  For a struggling franchise who has never won the Super Bowl (in four attempts) and doesn’t have the biggest fan base, Favre will be like a Godsend.

Last season, the Vikings ranked 25th in all of football in attendance, and have not had a competent quarterback since Randall Cunninghman or Daunte Culpepper in his glory days. Fans will come in flocks to see their once-hated rival don the Vikings helmet, will buy jerseys in heaps, and will get to experience what it is like to cheer for Brett Favre.

Favre looks like the last piece to a Vikings team that can run the ball on offense and stop the run of defense.  Last season, Jackson and Gus Frerotte faded towards the end of the year and could not do anything in the playoffs, as the Vikings were taken down by the Eagles in the first round.

But in breaking it all down, will the 40-year-old gunslinger really be able to take the Vikings to the promised land?

Last season with the Jets, much drama was made about Favre’s ailing bicep and shoulder, and was dubbed the reason Favre struggled at the end of the year.  He just did not look like the same quarterback and visibily struggled.

New York would end the season 1-4 after knocking off the Patriots and the then-undefeated Titans to finish 9-7 and miss the playoffs.  Head coach Eric Mangini was promptly fired and Favre announced his ”retirement”.

Last year with the Jets, Favre finished the last five games with two touchdowns and nine interceptions.  Four of those games were in cold weather, with a game in Miami being the only warm weather contest.

Say what you will about last year’s end of the season failures, but this isn’t the first time Favre has fluttered at the end of the year.

In 2007, Favre finished the year (the last five games) with six touchdowns and seven interceptions.  Just two of the games were in cold weather conditions, but Favre also played terribly against the Giants in the NFC Championship Game, completing just 19 of 36 passes and being intercepted twice.

In 2006, Favre threw four touchdowns and eight interceptions over the course of the last five games.  Four of those games came in cold weather atmospheres, and while the Packers won four of their last five games, they did so in spite of Favre’s lackluster performances.

In 2005, Favre met cold conditions in his last five games and threw just one touchdown compared to ten interceptions in that span.

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